(2019) January Hits and Misses

Hope everything is going well with you! Today I am summing up my January reads. There are some hits, one that I have mixed feelings about, and the rest are unfortunately misses!

Hits :

Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari

Remarkable.

Not only this book is a good book, it’s also a must-have-must-read book. It’s a theory which predicts what kind of future that we’ve been making for ourselves as a species, written by a history genius. If you’re interested in knowing more about this book, you can go here: Homo Deus: Are We God?

Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff

Intriguing.

This one is another and highly political book. It’s laden with partial political views and opinion. This book covers 100-first days of Trump’s presidency, it includes narratives on his governing-style, his political and racial disposition, his family and most importantly his fury. Putting aside its provocative propensity, I must say that this book is very well-written.

Eleanor Oliphant Is Fine by Gail Honeyman

Great Story. Great Characters.

If you’re in a mood of a good, somber and grim story with a bit of bitter and saucy humor on top of it, then this novel will definitely satisfy your thirst!

Kindfulness by Ajahn Brahm

Perfect Guide.

It’s an abridged version of a meditation handbook. It’s surprisingly very easy to digest and very very well-structured. This book would be a perfect guide for any complete newbie who knows absolutely nothing of meditation and is not sure where to start.

However, a tiny caveat, if you’re only interested in meditation practices, and not in being a Buddhist, the full version is probably not for you.

Mixed-Feelings:

The Writing Life by Annie Dillard

A Quasi-Poem.

As clear as in the title, this small book recounts a writer’s life, through a somewhat poetic narrative. Not that this book is a bad book, because it’s obviously not! But the thing with anything poetic is I am too dumb to understand it most of the time. And that’s where the mixed feelings came from I guess.

Misses:

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Moms would relate the best to this book!

I read this book because of all the rage on the Instagram. People seemed to like it so much, so probably I would too. I didn’t.

I guess the fact that I am not yet a mom myself has made this book a full-of-questions pool for me. I questioned every turning point of the story, I had mixed feelings about almost each character, and I didn’t fully understand which part of the narrative should have intrigued or hooked me.

But since many people enjoyed it, maybe you will too!

One Day In December by Josie Silver

Not for me.

To me, this novel would otherwise be an engaging story if not for its terribly drawn-out love at the first sight. Personally and primarily, I am not a fan of awfully cheesy romance and most importantly, I don’t believe in love at the first sight. Besides, I also couldn’t accept the irony of what was painted as such a deep and sure love took the longest time to materialize.

Do Humankind’s Best Days Lie Ahead

Too short of a book, too important of a subject.

This one is a brief record of a debate on humankind’s future. I read this book in the event of trying to balance out Harari’s opinion (see Homo Deus: Are We God? to understand what I am talking about), and I ended up not liking it simply because it was too short to be substantial on such a complex matter. But it was short, so it didn’t take up much time to read anyway.

Thank you for reading and don’t forget to press like, follow or kindly leave a comment below, and I’ll see you guys next week!

Your taste in reading is admirable Carissa, but way more esoteric than mine. I have had “Fire and Fury” on my TBR list since its publication and your review reminded me to move it up on my list. So thanks for the nudge.
Savsandy

Welcome!

Hi, my name is Carissa. I’m a married lady who comes from an archipelago near the south end of Asia continent called Indonesia. Against the widely spread stereotype, I am not a maid, nor an illegal immigrant. I live my life just like you guys do. I read, I write, and I sketch. Enjoy!